How to Give a Shit About Typography (Without Getting Pretentious)

A blog about design details, authorship, and why type choices actually matter.

Most people don’t notice typography.

That’s kind of the point.

When it’s good, it just works. When it’s bad, your audience won’t always know why—but something feels off. Suddenly, your “premium” brand looks like a Canva template. The words say one thing, but the design undercuts them. They sound less confident. Less considered. Like no one was really paying attention.

Typography is one of the easiest things to overlook—and one of the fastest ways to cheapen your brand. Not because it’s flashy. But because it carries tone. Structure. Intent. The kinds of details that signal real authorship.

This post isn’t about being a type snob. It’s about giving a shit. And understanding how small design decisions add up to something people actually trust.

The Typography Principles That Define a Brand

Typography isn’t just about picking a font. It’s about making decisions—visual, structural, and emotional—that shape how people perceive your brand. The type you use tells people what kind of company you are before they read a single sentence. When the choices are thoughtful, people feel it. When they’re not, they move on.

Start with the basics. Serif fonts tend to signal tradition, authority, and a sense of legacy. Sans serif fonts usually feel cleaner, more modern, and more accessible. Neither is better. But one is probably better for you. That decision alone can change how people see your brand at a glance.

Then there’s hierarchy—how you structure information to guide attention. What’s big, what’s small, what’s bold, what’s subtle. Good hierarchy keeps people reading. Without it, even the best copy gets skimmed and skipped.

Weight and contrast matter too. Lighter fonts can feel elegant or insubstantial. Heavier weights read as bold, confident, even blunt. Spacing adjusts pace and tone. Tight spacing creates tension. Loose spacing feels open, easy, and intentional.

Even alignment choices affect perception. Centered type can feel expressive. Left-aligned type is more grounded. Inconsistent choices create visual static, even if most people can’t name what’s off.

Most people won’t notice typography when it’s done well. But they’ll feel it. They’ll trust you more. They’ll remember what you said. That’s what makes typography a branding tool—not just a design element.

When Bad Typography Breaks Good Design

Typography isn’t the polish. It’s the structure. And when it’s off, even strong ideas lose their footing.

We’ve worked with clients who had everything else dialed in—messaging, imagery, even a solid visual identity—but the type collapsed it all. A landing page meant to feel high-end read as amateur because the line spacing was cramped and the body text barely legible. An investor deck with a clean design fell flat because every header sat in a different size, weight, and style—no visual rhythm, no consistency. We’ve had to fix product labels where the hierarchy was upside down: the tagline screamed, the product name whispered, and nothing told the customer where to look.

This kind of breakdown isn’t about taste. It’s about trust. If the typography feels improvised or inconsistent, so does everything else. A well-structured layout with poor type decisions makes the brand feel like it can’t finish what it starts. And when that work shows up across social, web, and packaging, the impact multiplies—loudly.

“Clean” isn’t a style. It’s a result. You get there by making smart, cohesive decisions—not by stripping the design down to the point of emptiness. Typography has to work with your brand’s tone and intent. If it’s just there to look nice, it won’t say anything that matters.

How We Use Typography to Build Authorship

At Kleur, typography isn’t a surface choice. It’s structural. It sets the tone, controls the rhythm, and defines how the message lives on the page. That’s authorship—and we treat it like it matters.

We don’t pull from templates. We don’t pick a trendy font and hope it holds. Every type decision—weight, scale, pairing, spacing—is made in service of the brand. What do they stand for? Who are they talking to? What do they need people to feel?

We build systems that hold up. That usually means two typefaces, not five. Contrast without chaos. Fonts that create hierarchy but still feel related—so the H1, the CTA, the caption, and the footnote all feel like they come from the same voice.

We don’t believe in “clean” for the sake of looking modern. We believe in clarity. That might mean a sharp serif headline with a workhorse sans body. Or it might mean dialing everything in one type family to keep things tight. It depends on the tone, the message, the platform.

What matters is that it’s consistent. That it’s confident. That it doesn’t leave the reader wondering who it’s from.

That’s how you build authorship. You don’t let the type talk over the message. You make it say the same thing.

Ready to Fix Your Typography and Elevate Your Branding? Talk to Kleur

Typography is one of those things you only notice when it’s wrong—unless it’s done with intention. Then it becomes the reason the design holds up. The reason people trust what they’re reading. The reason the brand feels like it actually has something to say.

At Kleur, we don’t make type choices just to look good. We make them to mean something. If your brand’s visuals feel unsteady—or like they could belong to anyone—it might be time to start paying attention to the details.

We’ll help you do it right.